Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has come out in support of Epic's Unreal Engine 3, calling it "an outstanding piece of technology" and expressing confusion about recent criticisms of the software.

Epic's most recently released game engine has been widely adopted but has also come under fire from some developers for shortcomings in the technology and Epic's developer support. Too Human developer Silicon Knights sued Epic in July, claiming the company misrepresented the engine's capabilities and refused to adequately support Silicon Knights' efforts with it, while Dark Sector developer Digital Extremes made similar claims in August. Most recently, Midway cited problems with the engine as the cause for delays in Stranglehold and BlackSite: Area 51.

Speaking to VideoGamer.com, however, Pitchford threw his support behind Epic's platform. "We love Unreal Engine. It's an outstanding piece of technology," he said. "Where we've used it as it's come, it's been solid and secure for us. It's great multiplatform technology, so we can run on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC."

Addressing complaints leveled against the engine by other companies, Pitchford said, "I've seen some of the stuff on the internet about the problems and I don't know if these developers are maybe new, or not used to using other people's technology or if they've gotten too many inexperienced developers or they're just cry-babies. I just don't know."

"If I were going to do that technology myself I'd have to spend another two years on my game and spend a lot more time and money, and that's bad, and that's not good for gamers."

Gearbox is currently at work on Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, a World War Two FPS powered by the Unreal Engine 3. The game is scheduled for release in 2008 on the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.